﻿Taking a second look at E-cig side effects

Taking a second look at E-cig side effects

Most people would agree that electronic cigarettes are safer than analog cigarettes – but does that mean that E-cigs are completely safe?

Studies have indicated that E-cigs are, without a doubt, much less harmful than their analog counterparts – but does this mean that they have zero side effects?

In this post, you’ll learn that E-liquid isn’t entirely without its downsides. Yes, vaping is definitely better than smoking – but E-liquids also come with a few side-effects of their own.

Most E-liquid contains nicotine – and it’s addictive

Nicotine, which is a drug found in tobacco leaves, is toxic at concentrated levels. In fact, it’s used as a pesticide by farmers to protect crops! A drop of pure nicotine is enough to kill a human – though it’s delivered in much smaller doses than this when consumed through cigarettes or E-cigs.

“Chemicals in e-cigarettes can damage lung tissue, provoking inflammation. That damage can reduce the ability of the lungs to keep out germs and other harmful substances, new studies show.”

There is also some pretty interesting data on this subject published on the NCBI website, under the headline ‘Electronic Cigarette Liquid Increases Inflammation and Virus Infection in Primary Human Airway Epithelial Cells’. You can read this paper here: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4171526/.

E-liquid could potentially put you at an increased risk for asthma attacks and flare-ups

While the evidence for this is rather inconclusive, it is possible that, for some people, E-liquid could cause asthma problems or contribute to the advent of an asthma attack or flare-up.

“Certainly, e-Cigarettes aren’t nearly as dangerous for the person with allergies and asthma compared to the harmful effects of real cigarettes. However, the dangers of e-Cigarettes on allergies and asthma cannot be fully dismissed. Impurities found in e-Cigarettes could trigger an asthma attack or worsen nasal allergy symptoms, either by the person using the e-Cigarettes or even from a person exposed to the “second hand” vapor emitted from the device.”

The nicotine in E-liquid may be harmful for your heart

One of the problems that opponents of E-cigs cite as a major danger of electronic cigarettes is the fact that some E-cigs may contain more nicotine than others. Of course, risk of nicotine poisoning is definitely a fear that applies here, but it’s also possible that all of this nicotine could pose a danger to the cardiovascular system.

According to some other sources, nicotine raises your blood pressure – which increases your risk of suffering a stroke or a heart attack. Here’s one excerpt from a paper published on their website.

In conclusion

E-liquid definitely isn’t without its own set of risks – which only goes to further prove that nothing is as safe as breathing clean air. Inhaling anything less pure than that could possibly set you up for health problems down the road, and vaping is no exception.

Of course, vaping is far less harmful than smoking – but that doesn’t mean that you should start doing it if you’re not trying to quit analog cigarettes. To be quite honest, avoiding an addiction to nicotine might be the best solution for everyone – but E-cigs may be able to help if you’re already dealing with a cigarette addiction and need something to help you increase your odds of successfully quitting.

About The Author

NicoleIt's my passion to do the research about familiar to me topics, especially when it comes to electronic cigarettes and the whole vaping industry as such. I hope you will find my content useful and when / if you do - please do share it! I will appreciate it! :) See our ''Who We Are'' page to find out more about me and my colleagues. Thanks and I look forward to your comments and feedback.